Your ultimate guide to Facebook analytics

Why should you keep track of Facebook page analytics?

Have you asked yourself why Facebook analytics matter? Facebook is still the world’s biggest social media platform with billions of active users. Yet, it increasingly favours personal profiles and groups over business pages.

What does this mean for your business? It means organic reach — how many people see your posts without paid ads — has dropped drastically. Many businesses notice fewer views and interactions unless they adjust their strategy.

So, tracking Facebook analytics is crucial. When you understand what works and what doesn’t, you can tailor your posts for better results. For example, many brands have seen significant growth by analysing their best-performing content and posting at optimal times.

By reading the right data, you’ll know which posts engage your audience and how to improve.

What are the Facebook page metrics to look out for?

Which Facebook metrics should you watch? Three key figures matter most. You might recognise these from our LinkedIn analytics lessons:

Reach

What does reach mean? It’s the number of people who see your content on Facebook. But due to Facebook's algorithm, your reach can be limited.

Facebook uses an algorithmic feed, prioritising personal and group posts. This change caused organic reach for business pages to plummet—some studies show as low as 2.6% of followers seeing a post. For example, a company with 10,000 followers might reach only 260 people organically.

Even with a big audience, you can’t assume everyone sees your posts. That’s why monitoring reach is vital. It tells you if your content is getting visibility.

Where to find reach on post level? Scroll to the bottom of any post on your page to see how many people it reached. This helps you identify which posts got more eyeballs.

Reach over time is also important. On your page’s timeline, you’ll find a widget showing total reach across selected dates. This helps spot trends in your audience growth or decline.

Don’t worry if your organic reach seems low. Some brands with loyal communities still reach higher percentages. For example, a local bakery might reach 15-20% of their followers because of strong community ties.

Engagement

What is engagement, and why does it matter? Engagement measures how many people interact with your content—likes, shares, comments, clicks, or views.

Is looking at the number of likes enough? Not really. It’s better to consider engagement rate, which compares interactions to the number of people reached.

You calculate it like this:
Engagement ÷ Reach = Engagement rate

This rate shows how well your posts resonate. If your engagement rate is 5%, that means 5 out of every 100 people who saw your post interacted with it.

Track this rate over time to find your average and then test different content types aimed to improve it. For instance, posts featuring faces or behind-the-scenes stories often get more engagement.

Here’s a tip: on Facebook, light-hearted content about people tends to perform best. Brands posting photos of their team or fun moments see higher rates than purely promotional posts.

Followers

Why care about followers? More followers usually mean higher reach potential. But don’t expect your follower count to grow simply by posting good content.

How can you grow your followers? Start by inviting existing contacts and colleagues to like your page. Many brands succeed in boosting followers this way.

It also helps to create shareable content that encourages your current followers to invite others. For example, a clothing brand might launch a contest asking followers to tag friends to enter.

💡 pro tip: Use your employee network to give your page a headstart. Employees sharing and inviting friends can greatly increase your visibility.

How can you use Facebook analytics to improve your strategy?

After you’ve gathered your analytics, for example with Willow's dashboard, the next step is action. Use your reach and engagement data to identify successful posts. For example, if videos consistently get higher engagement, consider producing more video content.

Timing also matters. Check which days and times your posts get more interaction, and schedule more posts accordingly.

Remember, consistency is key. Don’t rely on one-off viral posts. Aim to build a steady rhythm of quality content that your audience expects and enjoys.